Pitch Wars Interview with Lisa Moore Ramee and her mentor, Tabitha Martin

Our mentors are editing, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase on November 3rd-9th, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2016 Pitch Wars Teams.

And now, we have . . . 

Lisa Moore Ramee – Mentee

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Tabitha Martin – Mentor

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Lisa: Why did you choose Tabitha?

Tabitha had me at “darker, more emotional contemporary.” And when I read she liked “messy,” I was certain we’d make a great match. Someone who wouldn’t go cross-eyed over my fragments? Yes, please! Also, Tabitha was looking for thrillers and didn’t need a whopping romance. Don’t get me wrong. I love a love story, but that’s not what I wrote. Add all those things up and throw in that Tabitha seemed nice and sincere and like we could hang out when not working on my book, and I knew I had to sub to her.

Tabitha: Why did you choose Lisa?

As soon as I started reading WE ARE NOT ALONE, I was in love with the main character’s voice. Nia’s voice is authentic, raw, and real, and that’s what I love in a contemporary YA. But I was so intrigued as I kept reading, because this is a book about an epic disaster, and I was on pins and needles wondering what was going to happen and who was going to survive. I read Lisa’s book in one sitting, and after thinking about it for two days, I just couldn’t STOP thinking about it, and I knew it was the book for me.

Lisa: Summarize your book in three words.

Disaster. Terror. Hope

Tabitha: Summarize Lisa’s book in three words.

Disaster. Mystery. Perseverance.

Lisa: Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?

I grew up in Los Angeles but have lived in Northern California for over twenty years. So I’m both a Lakers and Warriors fan. I’m married with two kids who believe they’re grown but I believe they are still my babies. I’m a reader more than a writer. All genres–really. One of my best jobs ever was working for Disney Publishing where I actually got paid to read. I was in two book clubs before one booted me out because I kept insisting we read the books. I liked Harriet the Spy, but adored The Long Secret and (true story) I started a “spy journal” in fifth grade, left it out during lunch and all my friends read it–costing me said friends. I’m much better at hiding my spy journals now. Disaster movies are my jam (even hokey ones) and I wanted to capture those dark, scary, survivor feels in a book. My main character is black (like me!) which is unfortunately unique in the publishing world. There’s definitely a Breakfast Club vibe in WE ARE NOT ALONE, but with a diverse cast. And (spoiler alert) my members of the club aren’t all going to survive.

Tabitha: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.

Haha. This will be hard because I share pretty much everything on Twitter. But. I once worked at an all-girls summer camp in Alabama one summer during college. You know, like the kind in Parent Trap. I was literally on pins and needles because it was going to be the best summer ever. And then it definitely was not. It was basically a camp where the kids were so rich that they could do whatever they wanted, and at the end of the summer, I got paid 92 cents an hour to let preteens boss me around. Lesson learned. Movies and real life are not the same thing.

Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! And don’t forget to stop by the Agent Showcase starting November 3rd to see how our teams do in the final round.